Maps, Plans & Posters | Oversized Scanning Solutions

Our archive technicians have extensive experience in digitising complex document types into high quality digital files, ideal for archival purposes, viewing and uploading.

Output formats are straightforward offering any type from TIFF, JPEG (JPEG2000), PDF (PDFA), or any other format you may require.

If we can support you with your archives or oversize scanning solutions, please do not hesitate to contact cheryl@oxfordduplicationcentre.com or call our offices 01865 457000.

https://oxfordduplicationcentre.com/corporate-wide-format-scanning.html

We support clients across the UK with our large format digitisation services, from complex oversized archives which include parchment and linen, typicallly maps, oversized prints, ordnance plans, manuscripts and books.

What Do We Mean by Oversized?

Our standards mean that any oversized media is typically over A2 420×594 mm and upto A0+.  

Not all parchment, maps and large format media are stored flat.   Our first role once large format orders arrive is to lay them flat in our storage facility.  We have a purpose built storage area 65m2 which houses all our storage requirements, so your fragile documents can be carefully prepared prior to digitisation.

Flat storage supports the media to be uncurled and left to settle for a few days, prior to digitisation.  This supports the documents and ensures a stress free digitisation of the media.

To ensure a seamless scanning service using our ‘digitise once only policy’, to mitigate damage, we will access the media and choose the correct scanning equipment for processing.

Our offices house a large variety of flatbed scanners, book-scanners, archive scanners, rollerfed scanners and production scanners which are idea for fragile media and all document types.

We follow The National Archives handling guidelines and comply with professional equipment standards. The National Archives Guidelines offer guidance for cleaning, mould or deterioration prior to arrival and/or digitisation.

Our services always ensure white cotton or nitrile gloves are suitable for single sheets, latex gloves risk causing tears to items. We generally advise handling without gloves to preserve dexterity and minimise risk of damage.

Our services offer archival digital outputs, ideal for long term storage and editing purposes.  Our recommendation is uncompressed RGB TIFF master copies for preservation, with surrogate asset files from the original.  This can be JPEG, PDF etc.

Clients requiring this service can ask for digital images upto 1200dpi. But bearing in mind the file size will be extremely large.

Typically, clients require a suitable file size that can be handled online, This means a lot of digitisation is prepared at 300dpi or 600dpi.  This ensures the ability to zoom deep into the image, given the high level of detail digitised.

With an ever increasing digital world, discoverability is essential to find images and media in large online archives or platforms.  Metadata ensures a seemless search and find solution for digital records.

Our metadata supports your digitisation project and indexing requirements.  Metadata can include important information that can enable the search and find fields, such as name of the media scanned, the medium digitised, date and year etc.